If Steve Ross couldn't go, what good was Dolphins' meeting with Peyton Manning?

Looks like Manning will be Strike 2, leaving Matt Flynn in free agency

March 13, 2012|Mike Berardino, Sun Sentinel Columnist

OK, so let me get this straight.

Peyton Manning spent an entire weekend out West, getting wined and dined by the Broncos and Cardinals, meeting with all the top brass at each potential football destination.

And the Dolphins can't even get the man with a South Beach condo to swing by Davie for a visit?

Mr. One Hit Away spent more than six hours at the Broncos' facility, including a 20-minute sitdown with club owner Pat Bowlen, only to follow that up with a long dinner at a country club, swapping jokes with John Elway and coach John Fox.

Then Manning spent nearly as long in Arizona, chatting up All-Pro receiver Larry Fitzgerald and having dinner at the home of Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, his golfing buddy.

And the Dolphins, who reportedly met with Manning on Monday night in Indianapolis, could only send new coach Joe Philbin, offensive coordinator Mike Sherman and perhaps General Manager Jeff Ireland?

What is wrong with this picture?

I'll tell you what's wrong: Manning is getting ready to let the Dolphins down easy.

How can it be anything different when he still reportedly plans to meet with Titans head coach Mike Munchak?

If you're really thinking about hiring an organization — and make no mistake, it's Manning who is doing the hiring here — don't you have to meet all the principal figures?

Instead, per multiple reports, Dolphins owner Steve Ross wasn't expected to be among those making the official pitch.

That occurred far away from the Dolphins' facility, where Manning spent both his Super Bowl weeks.

Oh, great.

While Ross sat back in Davie, fighting the urge to spam-text Philbin with little reminders like "Be sure to mention Dan Marino" and "See if his wife would like to meet Fergie," it was basically up to a rookie head coach to close the deal.

Or at least jam his foot in the door long enough to keep Manning from slamming it on the Dolphins' fingers.

It was left up to Philbin to keep his new team on Manning's radar — to whatever extent the Dolphins have been there throughout this exercise in mis- and disinformation.

"Front-runners?"

That's what the Dolphins supposedly were last week at this time.

"Very confident?"

Sure doesn't feel like that's an apt description for this meandering franchise now.

At least the timing of this Philbin-Manning summit was semi-favorable.

By moving up what was originally supposed to be a Tuesday meeting to Monday night, that left sufficient time for the Dolphins to regroup before the free-agent signing period opens at 4 p.m.

Anything other than the most optimistic of responses from Manning on Monday night should send Philbin rushing to board Air Ross One, along with his owner and GM.

The flight manifest shouldn't even be an issue. By then, everyone should know it's Matt Flynn or bust for this quarterback-starved franchise.

Seeing the Redskins trade up for the rights to Robert Griffin III was Strike One.

Manning's Wild West Weekend, barring a late reversal, sure felt like Strike Two.

Lose out on Flynn, Philbin's Green Bay protégé these past four years, and the Dolphins could be left to overdraft a Ryan Tannehill or a Brandon Weeden.

Now, the Dolphins could pivot quickly and go for Flynn — my top choice since Philbin's arrival — and still come up short.

The Seahawks, with former Packers official John Schneider (not the "Dukes of Hazzard" guy) running their football side, are said to be ready to throw a bunch of Paul Allen's money at the former seventh-rounder.

The Browns, with former Packers honcho Mike Holmgren, are reportedly prepared to do something similar after letting the Redskins leapfrog them for RGIII.

The cost, even without a franchise tag, could wind up being prohibitive for Flynn. Some estimates have that figure climbing past $50 million.

Mind-boggling, right?

Still, at least Ross would be allowed to sit down with Flynn before pushing all that money across the table.